The Burns of Wrath
by softballtitan009
Summary: Raven realizes the only way to save the world is to die. She gets help from the person whom she least expected, John Constantine. Rated for language, suicidal thoughts and hellish situations. R&R please! My first R rated fic.
1. Unforgivable Original Sin

The Burns of Wrath

Okay, this might be my worst fic I've ever written. In fact, why don't you go and compare my other stories to this one after your done reading this? Because I am DESPERATE for reviews! This is rated R for a **_reason_**! If you haven't seen Constantine, then you may want to look it up, because I'm adding him in here. He knows all this stuff about demons and….yeah. Contains language, suicidal thoughts, and in general shouldn't be read unless you have the stomach for it. I've never even written—no, _thought_ of writing something this mature. Please, if you can't handle the first chapter, then don't read the next one. And don't flame because you think it's gory or…whatever you think it is, because if you can't deal with it, then don't read it. The official pairing is Rob/Rae because I say so. It starts in the first chapter, people. You should be able to tell which episode this follows…..

Disclaimer: You Starfire/Robin shippers are so lucky I don't own that damn show.

* * *

Chapter-One

Unforgivable Original Sin

* * *

The night brightness shone through the windows of Titans Tower. The sun had said its good-nights long ago, and switched shifts with the moon. It illuminated the city below with the sliver of light that reflected from around the world.

All the Titans were in their rooms, going to bed after a long night of partying and celebrating someone's birthday. The hallways were filled to the brim with silence, drowning any creature who decided to go for a stroll.

Only one light was left on. A bathroom light. You could tell by the florescence of it that it wasn't a reading light or an overhead. It was used normally to wake you up in the morning quickly and greet the lucky person who flipped the switch. The birthday girl, Raven, was in this bathroom, retching her guts out.

She threw up in the toilet again. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her red-hot scars throbbed on her ash colored skin.

_'I can't do this anymore,'_ she thought, vomiting again. She finished and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, feeling the scars on her palm contract and sting. Her petite, thin, gray, and cotton T-shirt clung to her frail back with sweat. She gasped for breath.

_'This burden was never asked for. I never wanted this. So why is it mine? I've known this forever. I've tried to stop it, but it can't be changed.'_ She threw up again, releasing the contents of her stomach; the birthday cake, the ice-cream, the seven cans of soda, all of it. Her shaking, sweaty hands flushed the toilet when she was done. But she lay in front of it, small frame clinging onto the seat, knowing there would be more, that it wouldn't stop. Her breath came in deep, fresh and without sin. But, it was cursed when it entered her body, and it was damned when it left.

_'That's how everything is,'_ she thought, _'Why was I ever allowed to be born? Why were you so god-damned stupid mother? How could you ever keep me inside you?'_

She shook with dread, nerves and shock overtaking her. The once amethyst eyes were now clouded with the pain of knowing what's to come. Her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, cheeks and neck, the bird-like style gone. It was now a mess on her head. She felt the cold ceramic base of the toilet against her cheek as she gripped the seat tighter. The demon side swelled inside her and she heaved into the bowl again.

_'Jesus Christ, what is happening to me?'_ she wondered, eyes opening to the blinding light, breath coming in rasps, _'I can't cause the end of the world. I can't be my father's right-hand man. I have to…..die,' _she thought, knowing it was the only way to save the world from the fate she would bring upon it.

Fear overtook her as she realized what she had to do.

'_Not today, tonight…' _she thought desperately, thinking of her teammates. _'I have to explain to them why. They have to know. Robin has to know,'_ she thought, surprised that she would think that now. She hurled one last time in the toilet, letting out a cry of anguish as she felt the acid burn in her esophagus, and flushed it, getting up from the tile on her shaking knees.

The light from the inscriptions on her skin burned through her clothes, clearly visible through the cotton shirt. She could almost feel herself steaming from them.

_"Skies will burn…._Flesh_ will become stone….the sun will _set_ on your world, _never_ to rise again!"_

"I won't let it happen!" she yelled so that Slade could hear. His voice still echoed in her head, the first part of the message being stabbed into her.

_"Drink it in….."_

"I WON'T!" she screamed, her voice cracking.

_"Behold the world you are _destined_ to create….."_

She got up and frantically searched through her drawers, throwing aside anything that got in her way.

"No," she said, "No. No. No."

_"It's written….all over….your _face_…."_

"NO!"

She found it. The black handled, double-sided, polished knife gleamed in her hand.

"I can't do this anymore!" she cried, falling to her knees. The knife fell from her limp hands, the hands that burned her skin raw with fire.

"I can't do it…." she whispered weakly.

'_He's trying to make me kill myself. He knows I can't. He knows I won't do it,'_ she thought.

"_It's more than that. I can tell…"_

"Robin…." she whispered. A shining tear ran down her cheek.

"_You've been inside my mind…."_

"_We have a bond, remember?"_

"Yes, I do."

"_Now let me inside yours…."_

She sobbed, chest heaving. She looked at her hands. The inscriptions on them smoldered with anger. Her tears fell on the wounds left by Slade and died, hissing and steaming.

"_After all those years of waiting, Raven. Doesn't relief swell inside you? You finally know its going to happen…"_

"Fuck you, Slade." She fell on the floor, fatigue and exhaustion overtaking her conscious and singing her to sleep. "Judgment Day…." She whispered, falling into another world.

Four sharp knocks resounded from her door.

* * *

Titan009- So, tell me what you think? And please, if you have time, go and read my other stories…….and review them. Thanks! Next chapter should be up soon. 


	2. Savior?

The Burns of Wrath

So, you want more? Well, you came to the right place! Glad to know that you can stomach a little vomit and a few suicidal thoughts…..I think I'll make this a song fic…

Song: Easier To Run

Artist: Linkin Park

* * *

Chapter-Two

Savior?

* * *

Robin lay awake on his bed. His mask sat on his nightstand next to him. He checked every few minutes to make sure it was still there. He didn't want to lose it. He didn't want someone walking in on him

"Argh! Why can't I sleep?" he asked himself out loud, sitting up in bed.

_'It is really hot in here,'_ he thought. He flung his covers off and swung his legs off the bed. His feet hit the cold floor. It felt refreshing. His black T-shirt clung to his back and chest with sweat.

_'Why can't I fall asleep like I do every night?'_ he thought, _'Because tonight isn't like any other night. Tonight…we almost lost Raven.' _He ran his fingers through his hair. He got up and walked to the bathroom. His matching sweats scuffed the floor as he walked. He flicked on the bathroom light. After staring in the mirror at his unmasked face, and realizing what felt so awkward, he went back into his room and put the mask on, feeling the comforting familiarity of the white cloth against his eyes.

_'I need to think…'_ he decided, and opened his door on the twelfth floor of the Tower. He took a right straight out of his room as the door whooshed shut behind him.

_'I think you just want an excuse for going by her room…'_

_'Oh, really? And who asked you?'_ he asked his conscious.

_'You did. You said 'why can't I fall asleep?' and I told you. By asking yourself something, you ask me. A simple matter of the mind, Robin.'_

_'Gee, thanks,'_ he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes under the mask.

_'Well, you don't have to be so rude.'_

_'Well, you don't have to be so straight-forward. I need you there to guide me, not to shove the answers in my face.'_

_'It's not like you would listen to me anyways….'_

_'So why did you pop up in the first place?'_

_'I only come out when you're confused about what's right and wrong. And now, were talking about Raven.'_

_'What about her?'_ he snapped.

_'She has a secret, Robin. She doesn't want to tell anyone, especially you. But, you and I both know that she needs to talk about it.'_

_'I'm not going to pressure her.'_

_'You didn't seem to care last night. 'It's more than that, I can tell…'.'_

_'And you saw how far that got me. I don't want to pressure her any further…'_

_'Sooner or later, you're going to have to. She's going to do something none of us can stop. And then, then where will you be? I know how much you care about her. After all, I am the side of that tends to admit more things than the other side.'_

_'I'll think about it….Bye now!' _he thought, trying to make a point.

'_Okay. But remember, always let your conscious be your guide.'_

_'Shut up!'_

It was gone.

_'Well, that was weird. What did he mean by she was going to do something?'_ he asked himself. He reached Raven's room. He realized that he got there by not even realizing where he was going. His feet just took him to her door. He leaned against it for support. Wait, what was that sound? Something was going on inside her room.

"No…No, no, no…"

It sounded like Raven.

"Raven?" said Robin, pressing his ear against the door.

He heard her cry out.

"Raven!" he yelled, trying to override the security code.

"Password," said a cool voice.

"Violet!" he yelled, banging on her door, "Violet!" He could hear her crying. And then it stopped.

"RAVEN!" he yelled, kicking the steel door off its hinges and it fell to the floor. He frantically looked around his room for her. He saw her lying by her dresser, a shining knife by her side.

"Shit!" he hissed, fear almost making him pass out, and ran beside her. He turned her over. Her skin was so hot under his hands it almost burned him to touch her. Red inscriptions sliced through her skin, ones he had never seen before. He checked for a pulse. Relief washed over him as he realized she was still alive. He made sure she was still breathing; another wave of relief. He picked her up and rushed out the place where the door should have been. On his way out, he noticed her bathroom light was on…

* * *

"Beep!"

Robin waited in the white medical room.

"Beep!"

His head rested on his hands, propping his chin up. Raven lay on the medical bed, the inscriptions still hot to the touch, but slightly calmer.

"Beep!" The monitor was the lifeline. The thing that kept him calm. If it sped up, or slowed down, or it simplified to one long beep, he would panic. The health monitor was the thing that kept him safe. Even so, he constantly checked to make sure she was still breathing. If she stirred, he would check her again instantly.

_It's easier to run,  
Replacing this pain with something more…_

She fidgeted and her eyes fluttered open._  
_

"R-Robin?" she asked, her eyes adjusting to the light.

"Thank God…" he said, "Your awake."

"What time is it?" she asked, sitting up.

"Around two. You've been out for nearly an hour. Do you remember anything?" he asked.

"There was a knife….." she said, trying to remember. Suddenly, as she dug deeper into her thoughts, it all came flooding back.

"Slade—"

"Slade was there!" he shouted, "What did he want?"

"No, I could just hear him in my head. All the things he said while chasing me. Those horrible things," she concluded, her voice drifting off.

"God, I'm such an idiot. I should have stayed with you. How could I have let us get separated?"

She grinned. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that he came after me. My fucking father is the one to blame, but I don't think you want to go picking fights with him…"

"I should have been there."

"Don't blame yourself," she repeated.

"But, look what's happened now! Look at you!"

"What about me? Robin, I've known that day would come since I was born. I've already told you this. No one can stop this from happening."

"I can try," he said, softly. He looked her in the eyes.

"_You can't run away from who you are!"_

The memories of tonight flashed through her head. She had tried everything. She tried crushing Slade; tried smashing him with buildings, tried flattening him with cars… Nothing worked, and he had started it. He had spoken the message. The gears were in motion.

_It's so much easier to go,  
Than face all this pain here all alone…  
_

"It's not your responsibility, Robin. My burdens should not be on someone else's shoulders."

"That's your problem, Raven. You don't let anyone help you. You sit in your room all day and shut everyone out. It's not healthy for your mind."

"And how would you know what's good for my mind and what's not?" she asked in a deadly whisper.

"Because, we think alike, Raven. And that's what makes us so strong together. We can bring down Slade, but you won't let me help you god-dammit, and that's why your going to cause the end of the world, because you shut others down when they approach you."

"I have to keep my emotions in check."

"Fuck emotions. There are things more important than accidentally blowing up tofu eggs in Beast Boy's face or shredding a birthday banner to pieces."

"We can't stop him, Robin. You and I both know that the team is too weak. If were going to do this, were going to need back-up."

"And who do you suggest?"

She stood up and took the monitor stickers off her face and arms. She took her time. He stood up as he waited for her to finish. When she was done, she looked him directly in the eyes and said…

"Constantine. John Constantine."

* * *

The next morning the Titans all became extremely nervous about seeing Raven after last night when she shredded the banner and was mellow during her entire birthday party. Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy all kept quite so as not to irritate her when she came in.

"Do you suppose she's going through…what do earthling's call it? The P.M.S?" asked Starfire, whispering in her famous dialect.

"Na, you'd know if it was that," explained Beast Boy, having faced the wrath of Raven before her monthly disturbance before, "I think she just doesn't want to get older."

"No way man, she's just aggravated at the way she's been fighting lately. Something's distracting her guys," confirmed Cyborg. They sat at a table, discussing what to do about Raven.

"Do you suppose friend Robin will awaken soon? The morning has been most un-enjoyable without his presence."

"I don't know, Star. Maybe he's just sleeping in. Sometimes it's good for people to do that, and Robin needs some sleep once and a while."

"Perhaps," she said, and hovered off to start breakfast.

"Dude, you don't think Robin and Raven were…" suggested Beast Boy, careful to make sure Starfire didn't hear, "You know…" he said.

"No way, man! They would never do that! I think Raven would make the tower collapse if they did."

"But, haven't you noticed something between them? Like something they're not telling us?"

"Now that you mention it, B, they have been sort of secretive from us…" agreed Cyborg, a suspicious tone in his voice.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy slowly, as if uncovering a conspiracy, "I mean, why did he get all defensive when I said "I told you a surprise party was a bad idea"? I mean, he said the same thing! And then he goes of after her."

"You know, you may be on to something B! I'll look into it."

"No way man, I'm much more sneakier than you!"

"Fine, fine," said Cyborg, wanting to avoid a fight for Starfire's sake, who was humming as she flipped her pancakes, "Just be careful. I don't want Robin blowing up on you again like he did last night."

"I know man, I know. Master of disguise…" he said, morphing into a fly.

As if on cue, Raven entered the room, her hair a mess and her cape wrinkly. Cyborg gave Beast Boy a raised eyebrow and he received one in return.

"Good morning, friend Raven! I hope you desire the cakes of the pan!"

"Ummm….thanks, Star."

"I have inserted little berries inside each pancake for you," said the red-head, pointing to one of them enthusiastically.

"Sounds great," said Raven, with a little more energy than usual. The vomiting from last night had made her famished and she eagerly stacked five onto a plate and loaded it with maple syrup. Starfire was beaming that Raven was actually eating her food. And with a smile!

"So, Rae," said Beast Boy, sitting next to her as she wolfed down her breakfast. "Did you sleep good last night?"

"Not really, last night was especially eventful."

"So like, what happened?" said the green boy, pressing further.

"I'll tell you guys when Robin gets here," she said. Beast Boy almost burst open for wanting to ask her.

Raven slowly ate her pancakes.

_Something has been taken from deep inside of me,  
The secret I've kept locked away no one can ever see…_

Beast Boy walked over to Cyborg and sat down. They glanced at each other.

"Something is definitely going on," whispered Beast Boy.

"Damn straight something is…" agreed Cyborg. Raven poured more syrup on her pancakes very slowly and cut into them again. The room was quite except for the hiss of Starfire cooking.

At 9:22, Robin walked through the door.

"Morning guys," he said, walking over to the kitchen to get breakfast.

"Morning…." both suspicious boys said.

"Morning," replied Raven, looking up from her pancakes. Robin looked at her and then turned back around, as if to say something without words.

"Good Morning!" yelled Starfire, "I hope that you like the cakes of the pan, Robin! For, I have inserted little berries in each one for you!"

"Gee, Star. Thanks." He grinned at her and then turned to the two silent boys sitting on the edge of the couch.

"What about you guys? Aren't you going to eat?" he asked, sitting next to Raven at the table and pouring syrup on his breakfast.

"I don't _eat_ dairy pancakes…." said Beast Boy, the answer obvious.

"Well, I'm sure Star could whip some tofu ones up for you," he said, and dug into his food.

"I'm _sure_ she could," said Beast Boy.

"Sleep well, Robin?" It was Cyborg's turn.

"No, not especially. It was really hot in my room," he said, glancing at Raven. Cyborg's eyes widened, even the robotic one. Beast Boy's followed suit.

"So, Rae. What were you going to tell us?"

Raven set down her fork and wiped her mouth. She glanced at Robin. He nodded.

"Last night, at around 1:50, I had a visitor."

Beast Boy and Cyborg held their breath…

"Slade, entered my mind."

"_What!_" they both yelled, completely stunned at the answer.

"He told me, terrible things. Unforgivable things. But—"

"Wait! Whoa, whoa, wait!" exclaimed Beast Boy, "You're telling us, that _Slade_ came in your room?"

Raven stared at them. "Isn't that what I just said."

"Well—yeah…."

"He told me I would cause the end of the world."

The room fell silent. The quietness rang in her ears. Even Robin hadn't known this. Everyone locked their eyes on her and wouldn't let go, as if she would suddenly release her wrath on them. They looked like the words had physically slapped them in the face and it still stung. She looked down, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I should have told you sooner. I—I was just afraid that you would reject me. And without friends….I have no one. I wouldn't know what to do…"

Only Starfire knew the impact of these words, having seen Raven with no one to turn to when she visited the future.

"Wh…" Robin couldn't speak, "Why d…..didn't you tell us?"

_Wounds so deep they never show they never go away,  
Like moving pictures in my head for years and years they've played…_

"I was scared. Wouldn't you be? What would you do if you were to cause the destruction of the human race?"

The others kept silent.

"I thought you should know. Slade came back for me because he is working for my father, Trigon. The devil. I'm supposed to open a portal that will bring the end of the world about. I don't know if I do it willingly, or if I am forced…"

They still were silent. Silent and staring.

"God, I'm so sorry. I've put all of your lives at risk. Everyone on Earth's lives," she said, "Say something."

They didn't.

"Say something, god-dammit!" she yelled, boring her tear brimmed violet eyes into each of theirs with desperateness. They did not open their mouths, for fear of annihilation. But, by keeping them shut, they were increasing the chances.

The inscriptions on her skin began to glow. She was getting angry.

"Please, just say something. Anything…."

Robin saw what was happening.

"What can we do?"

"Call Constantine. If anyone can save the realm of humans, it is him."

"Wait, you mean _John_ Constantine? The _exorcist_?"

"He is much more than that. Much more."

"So," asked Robin, "Is he in the phonebook?"

_If I could change I would take back the pain I would,  
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,  
If I could stand up and take the blame I would,  
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would…

* * *

_

The rain poured and thundered on the Titans roof. They waited impatiently for their savior to arrive. They had called nearly two hours ago. They knew he was residing in the city, they just didn't know which sector.

Robin listened to his red iPod and tapped his foot, waiting for the doorbell. Raven read another book and was seated next to him. Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy, however, were sitting on the other end of the couch, watching Raven.

Twenty minutes later, the doorbell sounded, but it was much more ominous than it had ever sounded. They all got in the elevator and headed down in silence.

They walked, or glided, depending on your abilities, to the front door.

"I've heard he can be rude…" warned Raven. She opened the door.

A man dressed in a plain black suit with a white collared shirt underneath, stood in front of the Titans, looking down. His black tie looked crisp, but worn at the same time. His black shoes were worn and looked like they'd traveled around the world a few times. His hair was the same color as Robins and about the same length. A well distinguished chin and grey eyes made his other features stand out.

He looked up, taking a long drawl out of his cigarette before he tossed it to the ground. He looked about twenty-one, barely drinking age.

"You know," he said in a manly, but raspy voice. Raven was immediately attracted to him. "Living on an island isn't exactly convenient."

* * *

Titan009 Well? I tried to make it long. It's officially eleven pages on Microsoft word. Times New Roman point 12. Please review. Suggestions are welcome. Also, I've made Constantine younger he fits into the plot better. You might see some Rae/Constantine. But, mostly Rae/Rob in the next chapter. Please review! 


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